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Art Gallery by Tadao Ando Set to Open October 12 in Chicago

A stunning new space for art will open in Chicago next month. Wrightwood 659 is Tadao Ando’s second project in the city for the same client. The 35,000-square-foot gallery is located just next door to the Pritzker laureate’s first project, a house for philanthropist and activist Fred Eychaner completed twenty years ago in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. While the house was the Japanese architect’s first free-standing building in the United States, Wrightwood 659 is a conversion of a four-story 1920’s apartment building. The exterior of the red brick structure was untouched; it is only when arriving at the soaring atrium space immediately upon entering the building that Ando’s hand is visible.

There, a poured concrete stair tower, positioned at a dramatic angle, is a sharp contrast to the tan-colored common brick—salvaged from the original structure—that line the walls of the atrium. The entire interior of the apartment building was removed and a new steel and reinforced-concrete structure was erected within the perimeter masonry shell. A rooftop structure, set back from the perimeter, was added to provide a terrace for viewing art and the city skyline.

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May qualify for learning hours through most Canadian architectural associations

Concrete is a rather ubiquitous, tested, proven, and versatile building material. It has been used for literally thousands of years to create long-lasting man-made structures of all types, including buildings. Architects in the past few centuries have found it to be an appealing choice to express dynamic and vibrant designs in ways that other materials could not.

May qualify for learning hours through most Canadian architectural associations.

Population growth within American cities continues to skyrocket. Once empty downtowns in Rust Belt cities like Detroit, St. Louis and Buffalo are filling up; cities across North America like Tulsa, Philadelphia, and Ottawa, hoping to be the next Seattle, are wooing tech companies to bring their offices there.